Old 97's

This next band I probably would never have found without the help of the local sports station and a segment they do every Friday.  In it, local musicians and one of the coordinators of the ACL show come together with one of the hosts to talk about local shows happening that weekend and who to check out.  One of the bands they happened to mention was a band formed in 1993 in Dallas named Old 97's.  They are a blend of rock and country that really make for a good, whole, sound.  Although they came out in 1993, their best album, and my favorite by far was released in 1997, under the Elektra label, called Too Far To Care.  I'm still not bored of this album and honestly I really like every song on it.

Off of that album, my three favorite songs are: "Timebomb," "Streets Of Where I'm From," and "Niteclub."  All three of these songs are more rock rather than country but there are still some country elements to it.  After I did some more scavenging around, I found this super "chill," calming, folksy song that is entitled "Question."  Another really cool thing I found was an album entitled: "They Made A Monster: The Too Far To Care Demos."  Just as the title explains, it is an album complied with really awesome acoustic demos of songs off of Too Far To Care.  Something about hearing the raw versions of the songs make some of them even more enjoyable. 

I feel like the with the warmth of the above song along with the other works that were mentioned really show how diverse and complex of a group they are.  This then allows them to make great music that a lot of people can enjoy.  Hopefully they are able to release a new album soon.

-Brooks Gonzales